‘Retro City Rampage’ Hits Xbox Live Arcade This January

Brian Provinciano’s open world spoof Retro City Rampage is headed to the Xbox LIVE Arcade this January. Prospective players can own the game for only 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

Rampage is an 8-bit top-down parody of open world crime titles made popular by the likes of Grand Theft Auto. In fact, the game’s visual style was heavily inspired by the first two entries in the GTA franchise.

Joystiq reports that Retro City Rampage is also slated to arrive on the Playstation 3 in Europe in Asia this January. A WiiWare version is scheduled for arrival next month as well. PC gamers and US Playstation 3 owners have been enjoying the game since October.

The open world actioner has been described as follows:

“A parody of the open-world action genre, Retro City Rampage takes modern game mechanics and mashes them into an authentic 8-bit experience. Equal parts fast paced arcade action and an epic mission based story mode, it’s all the driving and shooting you’d expect and a whole lot more! With missions that twist pages straight from classic game experiences, you get to re-live and rewrite history in a way only a modern anti-hero could!”

Game & Guide explains that Retro City Rampage incorporates quite a bit of 80s pop culture into its jokes. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Back to the Future are reportedly referenced during the game’s opening sequence.

Old school video games such as Wizards and Warriors, Mega Man and Skate or Die are also ripe for parody. As you can see from the embedded clip, Brian Provinciano doesn’t mind wearing his influences on his sleeve.

In terms of gameplay, Retro City Rampage is structured much like your typical Grand Theft Auto clone. In this case, the game is wrapped in 8-bit nostalgia that’s sure to appeal to those who grew up blowing angrily into Nintendo cartridges.